Java: Amitabha Buddha

INDONESIA, Central Java

This statue was unearthed from Central Java. The Buddha sits serenely in full lotus position with hands in the dhyana (meditation) mudra. The figure’s eyes are downcast and an almost triangular nose leads down to a well defined mouth and pronounced chin. Snail-shell curls build to a domed usnisa. The thick neck has the three lines of a great person and gives way to broad shoulders. The figure wears a thin monastic robe that leaves the right shoulder bare, the only indications of the hem being a diagonal line across the chest, a fold over the left wrist and the more dramatic gathering below the raised ankle. Certain stylistic aspects of the statue are similar to the figures found in the niches at the Borobudur stupa, suggesting that this too may once have occupied a wall niche.